We step into the Now

"When you feel the light inside your body, you are in the Now. And you're not scared anymore. The light helps you feel strong." 
- from Milton's Secret by Eckhart Tolle

Armed with a sense of true wonder within, we continue to investigate our feelings. Last Sunday we opened our circle by sharing moments when we had strong feelings. We named the feelings, gave them color, and took a moment to recollect where in our body we felt them. White, green, blue, pink, yellow, clear & vermillion infused the feelings & gave atmosphere to stories shared - some exciting, some downright painful, all helped connect us.

My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss lyrically explores the world of feelings - showcasing and encouraging  reflection with vibrant artwork that inspires self expression. A great way to get the conversation going.

 "When I'm feeling lost and lonely, and I don't know where to go I follow my breath and my breathing takes me home" - Jerusha

I Follow My Breath is a terrific song and a virtual road map to inner peace. Follow the lyrics and see how you do the next time you are hurt or angry. We developed our own funky beat with the song, and had a really good time! You can find this song on the Planting Seeds book CD soundtrack, or click here to go to the homepage sidebar for a look at the lyrics. 

 In Milton's Secret, by Eckhart Tolle, we step into the empowering world of the Now. This "children's adventure of discovery through then, when, and the Power of Now" tackles the difficult cycle of revolving thoughts & feelings. We follow Milton, though an episode of bullying, that has him worried and fearful and filled with constant dread. Learning about the Now changes all that, and gives Milton a new understanding of himself, and the present moment - along with a powerful tool of transformation.
We took a minute to try feeling the light inside of us by shining a flashlight of focus on our hands, then face, then feet - take a minute now, and see if you can make them tingle with your loving attention
 

"Worrying begins as soon as you want things to be other than they are right now." - Eline Snel

The connection between thoughts and feelings is one that can be demonstrated fairly easily - simply ask a child to imagine they are with their favorite person, or pet and then ask them how they feel - they will usually respond in the positive, feeling the emotional boost the image gave them. But this is only part of the picture. Getting them to realize that they are not their thoughts, that they in fact have influence over their thoughts, is an altogether trickier matter. 

The Conveyor Belt of Worries from Sitting Still Like a Frog by Eline Snel, was this weeks guided meditation. In this meditation, she addresses difficult thoughts and "teaches you how to move out of your head and into your body, and to focus on a place where your thoughts can't reach" Wonderful visual images like "lower your attention like a small spider on a thread, from your head right down into your belly" help to keep focus and create an internal visual understanding. 

By refocusing our attention, and noticing the conveyor belt of worry, we can clear away many of the obstacles to enjoying ourselves.

This Sunday we will focus on another way. Basking in the glow of kind words, deeds, and thoughts, helps us to root deep down into the heart of joyful living, and creates habits of dwelling there.  

Come Join us as we fill each others buckets, and celebrate kindness towards ourselves and others ! We sure hope to see you.

 

We affirm our truth

Last Sunday we celebrated our Island Within... our SAFE Place... our inner TRUTH. Through song, story, and careful reflection we investigated this place of POWER, and expressed our selves creatively - with poetry, movement and collage. 

The Island Within

" Breathing In I go back to the Island within myself. 

There are beautiful trees within the island, there are clear streams of water, 

there are birds, sunshine, and fresh air, breathing out I feel safe.

I enjoy going back to my island." -  Thich Nhat Hanh

Layering vocals and percussion, MUSIC was an exercise in mindful merriment, as we followed our conductor's guide and created an ebb and flow of volume, and tempo. The Island Within by Thich Nhat Hanh was the INSPIRATION for our rhythmic exploration. This beautiful song, is an excellent reminder that STOPPING and taking care of our feelings with a time-out, doesn't have to be boring or unpleasant - quite the opposite! Connecting to our inner place of PEACE can be as wonderful and magical an experience as each of us can dream up.  

Here are our friends Julian & Chad with their funky you tube version, as they weave it together with another. It's a song you'll want to keep humming! 

For POEM & Stretch this week, we composed our own snowy reflections. It was fun to recite & EXPERIENCE the snow through each other's words & movements. 
Click here to see all of our snowy reflections

Lyrical and DREAMLIKE, Nancy Tillman's The Crown on Your Head set our imaginations in motion & filled us all with a powerful sense of WELL BEING. Her magical illustrations create an atmosphere of pure POSSIBILITY, & naturally  encourage each to explore the places of WONDER within. 

During our MEDITATION, Eline Snel describes A Safe Place as "a place where you can't be disturbed, a place where you can be yourself". With her GENTLE guidance we are reminded that we can find PEACE and quiet inside by traveling in our mind to a place, real or IMAGINED, that we feel completely safe. "A place where you are perfect just the way YOU ARE. No need to think or do or take care of anyone - just BE in this safe place where things are GOOD and warm, and nothing needs changing." It felt good to just REST there.

AFTERwards we shared with one another some of the places of peace and wonder we visited during the MEDITATION. "Running on the BEACH", "Sitting on a CLIFF overlooking the ocean", "under my BED", "In a SECRET room", "SNUGGLING with my family", to quote a few.

WE dragged our ART Room out onto the floor as we continued our LIFE SIZE self portraits. This week we added our peaceful places using markers, COLLAGE, and paint to express and create! NEXT week we will finish them up, so come and share your inner world.


NEXT SUNDAY we will explore the present moment with Eckhart Tolle's book Milton's Secret , and Eline Snel's guided meditation The Conveyor Belt of Worry. Come relax, CREATE, and practice with us, we love to spend our SUNDAY Mornings with you!